East Timor Observing the 1999 Public Consultation Process in East Timor

SPECIAL REPORT SERIES THE CARTER CENTER WAGING PEACE ◆ FIGHTING DISEASE ◆ BUILDING HOPE OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR FINAL REPORT DEMOCRACY PROGRAM THE CARTER CENTER ONE COPENHILL ATLANTA, GA 30307 (404) 420-5188 FAX (404) 420-5196 WWW.CARTERCENTER.ORG JUNE 2000 THE CARTER CENTER OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR 2 THE CARTER CENTER OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR TABLE OF CONTENTS EAST TIMOR PUBLIC CONSULTATION OBSERVERS AND STAFF 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 6 FOREWORD 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF EAST TIMOR 11 CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 14 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS 15 May 5 Agreement The Role of the United Nations Indonesian Military and Police Pro-integration Militias Falintil CARTER CENTER OBSERVER METHODOLOGY 20 Personnel Geographic Coverage Schedule Research Methods Methods of Influence MAJOR FINDINGS 28 CONSULTATION AFTERMATH AND OPPORTUNITIES 34 Democratic Assessment Trip CONCLUSION 36 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 38 APPENDICES 40 Sample Ballot Polling Day Checklists Selected News Articles Press Releases Weekly Public Reports #1-12 ABOUT THE CARTER CENTER 86 3 THE CARTER CENTER OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR EAST TIMOR PUBLIC CONSULTATION OBSERVERS AND STAFF LONG-TERM OBSERVERS Annette Clear, Ph.D. candidate, Political Science, Columbia University, USA Matthew Easton, Independent Consultant for Policy Research, Human Rights, and the Environment, USA Gillian Flies, Co-director, Carter Center Observation Project in East Timor, USA Sophie Khan, Masters student, International Intercultural Management, School for International Training, Canada Nancy Lutz, Associate Professor, Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, USA John MacDougall, Ph.D. candidate, Anthropology, Princeton University, USA Brent Preston, Co-director, Carter Center Observation Project in East Timor, Canada Frederick Rawski, J.D. candidate, New York University School of Law, and Ph.D. candidate, Anthropology, State University of New York-Buffalo, USA SHORT-TERM OBSERVERS James Clad, Professor, Southeast Asian Studies, Georgetown University, and Director, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, New Zealand/USA Donald Emmerson, Professor, Political Science and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin, and Associate, Stanford University Asia/Pacific Research Center, USA James Fox, Professor, Anthropology, and Director, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, USA Catherine Green, Ph.D. candidate, History, University of California, Los Angeles, USA David Hicks, Professor, Anthropology, and Chair, Anthropology Department, State University of New York, Stony Brook, USA Andrea Molnar, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, and Associate, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University, Canada CARTER CENTER STAFF Douglas Archard, Diplomat-In-Residence, The Carter Center, USA Vincent Barnes, Intern, Democracy Program, The Carter Center, UK Charles Costello, Director, Democracy Program, The Carter Center, USA Rachel Fowler, Program Coordinator, Democracy Program, The Carter Center, USA Kirk Wolcott, Program Coordinator, Conflict Resolution Program, The Carter Center, USA 4 THE CARTER CENTER OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR KIRK WOLCOTT Carter Center East Timor Mission Leader Charles Costello, standing at map, discusses deployment plans with observers and staff at The Carter Center office in Dili. 5 THE CARTER CENTER OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABRI Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia ASDT Association of Timorese Social Democrats CNRT National Council of Timorese Resistance Falintil Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor Fretilin Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IDPs Internally Displaced Persons INTERFET U.N.-sponsored International Force for East Timor Kopassus Indonesian Special Forces Command LTOs Carter Center Long-Term Observers MPR Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly Polri Indonesia Police Force STOs Carter Center Short-Term Observers TNI Indonesia National Armed Forces (from April 1999) UDT Timorese Democratic Union UN United Nations UNAMET United Nations Mission in East Timor UNTAET United Nations Transitional Authority for East Timor USAID United States Agency for International Development 6 THE CARTER CENTER OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR FOREWORD ug. 30, 1999, was an extraordinary Although, technically, the United Nations treated the day for the people of East Timor. public consultation as part of the decolonization process After a long history of colonization from Portugal, the precedent of East Timor has broader ap- and external domination, they finally plicability. It stands for the proposition that the interna- were able to cast free ballots to deter- tional community will not allow wholesale, gross violations Amine their territory’s future. In the face of continuing vio- of human rights and denial of self-determination for a forc- lent repression designed to subvert the balloting, the ibly occupied people to be justified by a dominant power’s Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence. Their claims of national sovereignty. vote, however, came at a very high price. The experience in East Timor raises issues for those After the results of the United Nations-sponsored who work to protect human rights and support the right to “public consultation” were announced, East Timorese pro- self-determination in the decolonization process. Perhaps integration militia – supported by the Indonesian military foremost among them is whether the entire exercise was – embarked on a full-scale, deliberate campaign of vio- worth the Timorese people’s loss and suffering. lence. Hundreds of lives were lost, and families were forced East Timor’s vote for independence came at a great to flee into the mountains to neighboring West Timor and cost. The extensive post-consultation destruction was other areas of Indonesia. shocking and overwhelming. Consequently, East Timor While their homes, schools, and workplaces were now faces the formidable task of rebuilding both its physi- looted and burned, East Timorese refugees in West Timor cal infrastructure and social fabric. Although reconstruc- continued to suffer from harassment and intimidation by tion is slow, important progress is being made. Homes, the militia. The depth of the destruction in East Timor schools, and government buildings are being rebuilt. Com- shocked the world community and cast a dark cloud over munities are reuniting. the consultation process. East Timor’s transition offers an unprecedented oppor- There are several important lessons that the interna- tunity to design and build a democratic society. Timorese tional community can learn from this terrible experience. political and civil society leaders have expressed their com- The most critical relates to the security arrangement for mitment to creating an independent state grounded firmly the public consultation stipulated in the May 5 Agree- on democratic values. The international community ment. Allowing the Indonesian military to retain complete should assist the Timorese in reaching this goal. responsibility for security during the public consultation But, again, the question: Was it all worth it? Time and process was a serious flaw that opened the door to subse- again came the same response from the Timorese: “They quent problems. In retrospect, the international commu- have been killing us for decades, so this was nothing new, nity should have included a provision that allowed a multi- and it was what we expected from them. But now we are national force to have joint responsibility for security or free, and it is worth the sacrifice.” We must respect that take responsibility, according to defined criteria, if the gov- courage. ■ ernment of Indonesia proved unable or unwilling to fulfill its obligation to maintain security. Some people have questioned why so much attention and resources have been diverted to such a small territory. 7 THE CARTER CENTER OBSERVING THE 1999 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS IN EAST TIMOR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY he May 1998 departure of Indonesian tion would be paid to the security climate, given the his- President Suharto, following a 32-year dic- tory of repression, intimidation, and violence in the terri- tatorship, raised hopes of independence for tory. The methodology used was regular fact finding East Timor, where some 200,000 people throughout East Timor on necessary preconditions for a had died since Indonesia’s 1975 invasion of free and fair ballot and the release of a series of weekly pub- Tthe Portuguese colony. In January 1999, Suharto’s succes- lic reports. sor, Bucharuddin Jusuf (B.J.) Habibie, in an effort to ap- The Center was concerned less with the actual vote, pease the East Timorese and international community, sug- which the United Nations would administer, than with gested that a vote would be held on autonomy with or in- monitoring and casting world attention on the political dependence from Indonesia. Details of this referendum climate and any human rights violations prior to balloting. were set forward in the May 5 Agreement, signed by Indo- As President Carter said in the July 8 press statement an- nesia, Portugal, and nouncing the ob- YURIAH TANZIL the United Nations.

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